Welcome to the Process Server Training Center!
As local laws vary, please check your state statues and local ordinances for rules concerning become a private process server in your area. While nuances will vary from place to place, the training in this course should be relevant for everybody. Nonetheless, please do your diligence in checking eligibility and requirements. In no capacity and under no circumstances, should anything contained within this website be perceived to be legal or financial advice.
In this first post, I want to offer my thoughts on the job itself. To put it bluntly, it isn’t for everyone. Despite the many rewards that it has to offer, it isn’t for the faint of heart. Daily, you will be exposed to a wide variety of personalities and questionable places. Additionally, you also won’t get along with everybody who you meet. There is an inherent element of confrontation that comes along with process serving, which you will not be able to escape from. If two words could sum up this occupation, I would choose “conflict management”. Thankfully, however, most conflict can be easily managed with verbal de-escalation. While a straightforward concept, this is not a skillset that everybody is born with. It can, however, be learned.
Over the years, I’ve been approached by many individuals who want to work for me and/or get into the business. Very seldom, however, have I taken anybody up on it. Admittingly and to my own fault, I’ve always found that I enjoy working alone the most. My enjoyment from the profession comes from being in the field, “getting my hands dirty”, and interacting with my clients. I’ve never truly enjoyed managing other people or losing sleep over my liability from the choices of others. Nonetheless, there have still been several occasions where I’ve used independent contractors for assistance in the past.
The ones who have been most successful are likely not who you would expect them to be. They aren’t the bodybuilders, aspiring cops, or people looking for confrontation. In fact, those sorts of individuals often perform the poorest for a variety of reasons. Somewhat shockingly, the most successful process servers are those who look most unassuming. Truly, the more they look like a marginally successful insurance salesman, the better.
I’ve always felt that my own success has been contingent around the fact that I don’t generally appear intimidating. On the job, I dress business casually (usually in a button-down shirt and blue jeans) and take care to not give the impression that I just rolled out of bed. I endeavor to look professional but not “too polished”. When I talk to people, I talk to them and treat them the way that I want to be. It’s a genuine, yet carefully crafted persona and style that I’ve developed over the years. To put it crassly, I do my best not to be an asshole to anybody. I’ve learned that in this business (and in life), you can almost always catch more flies with honey. Importantly though, when that doesn’t work, I’m also readily able to code-switch and stand my ground.
At the end of the day, it’s just a job. I try not to take myself too seriously or get upset when things get unpleasant. Once the job is done, I “turn it off”, and go back home to my family. Thanks to the things I’ve learned, I’ve always been able to do that safe and sound. I never take for granted, however, that there is always the possibility that I may not.
Stay tuned! I’ll periodically be updating this blog on a variety of topics relevant to the world of process service.
